Birth of a satellite

As for other things, a satellite usually is made because there’s a use for it. It might be a meteorological satellite to observe the atmosphere or a scientific satellite to peer at the universe, but all satellite building begins on the drawing board.

Creating a satellite is complex and expensive. A corps of engineers, scientists and other specialists usually are involved in describing concepts and needs and in deciding how a satellite will be built.

Then, someone must build the satellite. Often, companies bid to build satellites, and some companies have specialized in building satellites for others. "Ordinary" satellites for communication and navigation are generally produced in series, which simplifies and lowers the cost of a satellite.

Tailor made satellites, such as Envisat, differ. Many member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA) co-operated to build Envisat, and many needs had to be met. This entails a prolonged political process and negotiations on who pays what and on who will use the satellite for what purposes.

A satellite may cost millions of Euros. The total cost of Envisat was two billion Euros, not including operational costs. Alone, the Envisat launch cost more than € 140 million.

So placing a satellite into orbit is technically not very difficult. But building one is truly rocket science!